"Maybe we all should have seen it coming. The "Baby Backs" that Valley baseball fans so adored just a couple of seasons ago have reached their awkward years. And a season that began with so much youthful promise has broken out everywhere in blemishes.

The team's ace, Brandon Webb, has a balky shoulder. Conor Jackson, among the club's better hitters, came down with valley fever. There's an ineffective bullpen, a change in managers, a lousy record at home and, predictably, disgruntled fans who are booing the home team.

And it's not even the All-Star break.

So where do the Diamondbacks go from here, besides deeper into the abyss?

The non-waiver trading deadline is July 31, and reality has set in. There is no need to make postseason plans. Any moves Diamondbacks General Manager Josh Byrnes makes before the deadline will be made with an eye toward the future - and that could mean living with more growing pains.

"We have a core of players, a lot of our very best players, and they're going to be here for a long time," Byrnes said. "We still believe in them, and a lot of them are performing at a high level right now. So we're not going to reinvent our core.

"But we're always building talent for the long term . . . getting assets and putting a roster together. We have an idea where our holes might be. It's a cliche, but if we make a deal, it's really just trying to get the best players we can.

"I think anytime you're looking at trades, the first thing you ask is, in the short term, how competitive is your team? And even though not having 'Webby' and not having much of Conor Jackson has hurt us, our record is what it is."

But Byrnes also looks at the big picture: Over the past three seasons, the Diamondbacks have the sixth-best winning percentage in the National League. They won a division title in 2007 and led most of the 2008 season before the Dodgers said hooray to Mannywood.

"One of the good things over the last several seasons in baseball is that we have parity," Byrnes said. "The talent difference between most teams is very narrow. So it's a matter of some luck or getting some surprise performances or health. We haven't had much of any of that.

"By the same token, even with our injuries, I think we all felt we would be better than our record right now. But the proof is in winning the games, and we haven't done it."

Last season, the Diamondbacks were buyers - or maybe renters - when they added Adam Dunn. The move wasn't enough to get the team into the playoffs - and then the club decided not to offer Dunn arbitration, thus losing him without compensation.

He is on pace to hit 40 home runs for the Nationals, and the Diamondbacks still are playing musical chairs with their corner infielders.

But the Diamondbacks have several veteran players who can help other clubs, and so far there have been very few "sellers." So if it's a buyers market and there aren't many sellers, th